Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton to link adjacent houses together

British actress Helena Bonham Carter and her partner Tim Burton are to build
an elaborate walkway connecting their two homes in an effort to improve
their unusual living arrangements, it has been revealed.

Ms Bonham Carter lives in one London town house, her partner (film director Tim Burton) is next door and in a third interconnected home live the couple's young children and their nanny

Plans submitted to their local council show the Hollywood pair are planning a range of “quirky” new features to upgrade their existing properties.

They include the construction of a rooftop dome known as a cupola, along with the demolition of a glass-encased staircase.

The couple’s decision to live in separate houses next door to each other has long raised eyebrows but the two insist their “relationship is enhanced by knowing we have our personal space to retreat to”.

Yesterday, council officials formally gave the green light for the unusual planning application to go ahead.

The granted proposal requests an extensive “remodelling” of the ground floor, the “erection of replacement first floor and roof with skylights” and “erection of link extension with new cupola to retain part of building at first floor level following substantial demolition of existing family dwellinghouse.”

It also reveals: “A new link at 1st floor level between no.3 and no.4, partly supported by cast iron pillars. This link would be topped by a salvaged 19th century timber and lead cupola.”

American director Mr Burton is perhaps best recognised for his quirky-themed and often dark films that have included Edward Scissorhands and Sleepy Hollow.

When in the UK he lives in a converted mews studio in Belsize Park, London, which adjoins the home of Ms Bonham Carter.

In May this year, the couple applied to Camden Council for permission to demolish much of Mr Burton’s home and replace it with a new extension.

Yet despite the planned new walkway, the two homes are already essential one after the actress knocked an adjoining wall through some time ago to link them.

The couple’s homes date from the mid-19th century and were originally built to provide low-cost hous­ing and studios to artists and craftsmen in the Belsize area.

But the house Mr Burton bought next door to his English girlfriend has already received a radical facelift during the 1960s, including the addition of a glass-encased staircase.

Current plans show Burton now wants to take away a section of the house re built in the last century - which his architects say is “dilapidated” - and replace it with a building of a similar size, using reclaimed red bricks and old timber and iron work.

In a report to the planning committee, council officers say the plans are for “substantial demolition” but added that most of the original studio’s fabric would be saved.

The council’s report adds: “The cupola will be a small-scale, somewhat quirky element.”

Architectural salvage firm Retrouvious have been asked to oversee the work. The company’s website states they “always try to incorporate some quantity of salvaged material, which is not always easy to spot as it is usually treated with a contemporary language.”

It adds that its architects are always on the lookout for unique features homes and has previously saved fossilised limestone during the demolition of Heathrow airport’s Terminal Two.

In an interview last year, Ms Bonham Carter revealed one reason why the couple enjoy their own space.

The star of the recent Alice in Wonderland film said: “Tim does snore, and that’s an element. We’ve tried lots of remedies that don’t work. He has a deviated septum and doesn’t want an operation.”